


Friends Reunited

by Severcroft23



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-07-18
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:21:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 4,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25246789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Severcroft23/pseuds/Severcroft23
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

This story is also being posted on fanfiction.net. I haven't published many stories yet, but I hope I'll manage to stick with this one. You are welcome to point out any mistakes considering English is not my mother tongue. I hope you take the time to read this (very short) chapter and maybe leave some feedback.  
Thank you!

Draco strolled along a sunlit street in wizarding London after having just returned from Denmark. He had spent three years in Denmark because of his job. He was managing his family's remaining properties and heirlooms across Europe. Though he enjoyed his job, he had missed Britain. Entering his favourite English bookshop which sold muggle as well as wizarding books, Draco made his way to the seat he used to occupy before he had left, only to find it to be taken.  
"Hermione!" She looked up. He was surprised to see her here, although considering the circumstances he wasn't actually that surprised.   
"Draco… what are you doing here?" The two wizards had become close in their sixth year at Hogwarts only to lose contact during the war. When they both returned to redo their last year at Hogwarts and finish their NEWTS, the two had once again grown to be friends. After school, they had once again failed to keep in touch properly.  
Hermione got up from her seat and embraced Draco.   
"I just returned from working in Denmark and thought I would come here to relax a little before unpacking. What about you?" He smiled down at the much smaller witch, who still sported her untameable brown curls.  
"Oh me? I was just reading up on some potions I was considering adding to my business." When he looked confused though rather intrigued as well she remembered she hadn't told him about recent developments. At this revelation the pair sat down and spent the afternoon lost in conversation, only abandoning their seats when the bookstore employee came to inform them the store would be closing in fifteen minutes.


	2. Coffee on Tuesday

So here's chapter 2, I hope you like it. I think I'll keep the chapters themselves rather short. Reviews are appreciated ;)  
Enjoy!

They had set a day for another meeting after they had left the small bookshop. Draco however, was not keen on waiting a whole week until he was going to get more time to spend with Hermione. He decided to find the shop where her potions were being sold and where she had said she would be every Tuesday and Thursday. Today was Tuesday. Draco took his time to dress, choosing a Slytherin-green muggle sweater, a pair of black trousers and a silver wristwatch he had bought from a small jewelry company in northern Denmark. He apparated to a village just south of Greater London, to where Hermione's business was said to be. He identified it quickly, as it was the only shop displaying potions bottles and very aesthetic looking drawings in the window. The door opened for him and a little bell rang. The shop was buzzing with excited customers sniffing fresh fragrances or inspecting potions in the hope of finding something too help their little troubles.   
Draco scanned the shelves before making his way over to the counter. Here he found a tall, elegant- looking woman trying to point customers to what they were looking for. Waiting in line for his turn to arrive, Draco noticed a smaller room off to the side of the crowded part of the shop. Only few people could be seen standing in there, behaving as if in a museum. He was immediately intrigued but was kept from further investigation by the tall employee trying to catch his attention. Smiling, Draco turned and inquired if he might be able to speak to Ms. Granger. The employee squinted at him suspiciously but nodded ant turned to enter a back- room.   
Hermione was surprised when her employee Jed came to tell her a customer was outside waiting to see her. Curious as to who it could be, since her friends usually didn't visit her at work, she headed to the actual shop- area. It didn't take long for her to see who had asked for her. A familiar tall, blonde figure was standing, inspecting her variety of calming droughts. She smiled to herself at the pleasant surprise of seeing Draco here.   
"Hi there, to what do I owe the pleasure?"  
"I thought I would bring you coffee for lunch"  
Confused, Hermione looked down, she hadn't noticed him carrying any coffee. "So where is it?"  
"Where's what?"  
"The coffee Draco! What is wrong with you? I don't remember you being so distracted…"  
"Yeah, sorry, I just found these potions really interesting. Do you use your own recipes? As for the coffee, I went to get some until I realised I didn't know what you'd like so I decided to take you to get coffee instead."  
Hermione smiled up at him, happy that he'd give her a break from work. She hoped they'd be able to get back to being the friends they once were. Quickly retrieving her trenchcoat, Hermione and Draco set off to visit the local coffee shop.  
Taking a seat at a window, Hermione sipped her Cappuccino, while Draco had curled his long, lean fingers around a steaming Flat White. They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, being occupied with their respective coffees. Hermione broke the silence by asking what had brought him to visit her workplace.  
"Well I thought you probably spend all day brewing complex potions without a break and only ever stopping by the time it's dark outside." He smirked. She blushed, realising his assumption was not so far from the truth.   
By the time both their cups were empty and Hermione had to return to her potions, heavy dark clouds covered the sky and rain had begun to fall. Swearing to herself at the idea of having to deal with her extremely unruly hair after being rained upon, Hermione only left the cafe begrudgingly. Casting one of his self-invented charms Draco followed her through the rain. When she noticed the rain was not hitting her, she looked up to find an umbrella-like object floating above her and the tall blonde. Her jaw dropped. She had never seen such a charm.   
"It's my own spell", Draco explained, smirking at how he had achieved to baffle the know-it-all witch.  
"It's beautiful", she acknowledged looking up at the bluely shimmering 'umbrella'. Again, he smirked.  
They reached her shop and made sure they'd still meet up the coming Friday afternoon. She waved him goodbye through the window of the still buzzing shop before he apparated home.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
Thanks for the reviews ;)

Hermione went about the rest of her day feeling happier than previously and decided she'd rather brew another batch of her self-invented lemon-cedar perfume than work on her newest creation. She didn't feel like thinking too much that day. Locking her shop wandlessly Hermione made her way along the now nearly deserted little street. Thankfully the rain from earlier had taken a break. She turned left once into an even smaller street, admiring the smell of petrichor that had formed after the rain. Her cottage was stood a few houses in, but her neighbours were all very agreeable people. In fact, Neville and Luna owned the cottage just next to her own and the trio had grown to be good friends. Neville even helped her with her plants. Many of the ingredients needed in her potions could be found growing in her back garden.   
Hermione loved her cottage but right now it was rather quiet and empty. She decided to do what helped best whenever she longed for company. She sat down in her squishy leather armchair and curled up with her favourite book. Pride and Prejudice… Elisabeth had just met Mr. Darcy for the first time. She smiled, knowing how Elisabeth's aversion to Darcy was going to change dramatically before the end of the book. Hermione didn't bother to transfer to bed when she felt she couldn't hold the book much longer. She wished there was a charm that could make her books read to her. She grabbed her blanket from the table beside the chair and curled up further, eventually falling asleep with the book in her hands.

Draco slowly woke up, stretching before opening his eyes. The light was way too bright… He turned to check the time on his bedside table. It was noon. He stretched again before getting up to take a shower. Currently, Draco had decided not to live at Malfoy Manor with his parents but rather to occupy a very airy apartment at the top floor of a high rise in central London. One wall of the open-space living room was just glass, so one could sit, look over the Thames and admire the view. Draco had a full month in London before he would likely have to head back to Denmark to sort out some family heirlooms which were to be displayed in the wizarding half of the National Gallery of Denmark in Copenhagen. He didn't quite know why his father was so set on Denmark, maybe because people there looked like them. He smirked. After getting dressed he left the apartment to explore how London had changed since he left.


	4. Chapter 4

So here's chapter four, hope you enjoy. Reviews are still welcome. I'm not sure how often I'll update but for now this pace seems to work just fine…

Hermione's business was running a lot better than she could have ever imagined. She had managed to employ three really nice wizards to help with the selling and brewing of her potions. In fact things were going do well, Hermione was able to spend three days a week just working on her potions and developing new concoctions. What she was happiest about though, was that about six months ago she was able to expand her business. A year ago Hermione had come to notice, she was absolutely capable of abstract thinking, imagination and creativity. So she had started a habit of drawing. She was selling some of her drawings just for fun in a little room to the side of all the potions. They weren't expensive and people seemed to enjoy them quite a bit. Usually dedicating her Fridays to drawing, she had lots of time to get ready to meet Draco. She felt a little giddy at the prospect, which was a feeling she was not used to. So Hermione decided to blame it on wanting to make a good impression on the wizard she hadn't seen in a few years. 

The two were set to meet at a muggle location, the Tate Modern, which she had been surprised about after he had suggested it. Hermione knew Draco didn't share his father's beliefs on blood purity and superiority of purebloods but it was still uncommon for wizards to venture into the muggle world.

Draco was a little nervous all of Friday morning. He felt it was only fair to tell Hermione about the future of his career and that he likely would not be staying in Britain but he didn't want to lose contact again. He put on a crisp, white shirt because that's what he feels most comfortable in, tucked into a pair of black trousers and once again paired with his favourite silver watch. His nerves getting the better of him he left way too early. He spent the better part of 20 minutes sitting in the bar of the Tate while sipping a Gin Tonic. He needed the gin. Thankfully he had taken his sketchpad with him to keep him occupied. Having always been more creative than extremely pragmatic, Draco still enjoyed sketching every now and then. When the ice in his drink had nearly melted, he heard footsteps approaching him. He turned to see Hermione standing behind him, smiling. He got up to greet her, his sketch lying forgotten beside his drink.   
"You look like you've made yourself comfortable" Hermione noted, still smiling.  
"Umm… yeah, I arrived a little early."  
"Shall we sit?" she asked when they where still standing beside the table a few moments later.  
"I was thinking maybe we'd like to get something to go and walk around a park?"  
"Sounds perfect to me."

The pair picked up their coffee, Hermione had quickly conjured their own mugs so they didn't pollute the environment. Making their way towards Hyde Park, they kept up polite and comfortable conversation. Draco pointed them towards a nearby bench before turning to her, having plucked up the courage.


	5. The Decision

Hope you enjoy!

"Hermione, I…I really want our friendship to last. I want to spend more time with you and just talk. Because talking to you is so much easier than it has been with anyone else, but-"  
"But what?" Her face did not show the amount of disappointment she felt at whatever might turn out to come after the 'but'.  
"But my job requires me to move back to Denmark."  
For some reason Draco had expected anything but this reaction, so he waited. He thought she was going to yell or scream or simply walk away. She wasn't though. Hermione was still sitting on the bench, next to Draco in central London, with an enormous grin plastered across her face. He was confused. Why would she be smiling?   
When she didn't seem as if she was going to tell him of her own accord - such a stubborn witch - he threw her another rather confused glance and asked. She turned to face him, her hair a little wilder than she probably would have liked, but still much more tamed than it ever had been in school. Except for the Yule Ball… Her eyes were sparkling and the colour was like sunlight working its way through the trees, thereby throwing tiny golden rays toward the ground. She took his hands in hers and he marveled at how soft they-  
"I can come with you.", she had very effectively mentally stunned him. "I've been thinking for quite some time to expand my business to other parts of England or even other countries. Denmark might be a wonderful place to start. I could keep my cottage here but get someone to rent it and find myself a nice, cheap apartment somewhere in Denmark. And then I could find somewhere to continue my business, while Jed, one of my employees, could take over leading the shop over here."  
A stunned silence followed this. Draco had thought of every possible way this conversation could turn out. Or at least he thought he had. For a moment he considered what she had proposed.  
"There would be absolutely no talking of you finding an apartment." When he looked up and saw how crestfallen she looked, he backtracked.  
"No, you misunderstand. I'm asking you to move into my cottage with me. As friends." She didn't reply. "It's located in southern Denmark close to a city called Sønderborg. I think it would be perfect for the two of us. I wouldn't be so lonely as I had been the whole time I was there before, there's space for you to brew potions, since I do so too occasionally", he smirked, "and-", she cut him off again. He really had to teach her not to do that.  
"So that's a yes? Because I think it sounds absolutely perfect, but I wouldn't want to intrude or push us towards something that might be too much for us right now."  
"No, as I said, I've been quite lonely there over the years and I'd certainly tell you if there was something I didn't want."  
"So it's decided then." They both smiled at each other, but when they noticed they were still holding hands, they withdrew quickly. They spent a long time on the bench talking things through and by the end of it Hermione knew she'd be promoting Jed's position in the business, having to find a way for the brewers to still use local ingredients and find a shop to rent for the expansion of the business in Denmark.


	6. The Cottage

There is a tiny bit of swearing towards the end of the chapter. Hope you're not too bothered by it. Thanks for reading!

Jed had quickly agreed to take over from Hermione which meant Hermione and Draco had spent the last three weeks planning the move and sorting out anything that was left. One evening Draco had unexpectedly apparated to Hermione's cottage in Greater London to surprise her with the news that he had bought a small shop close to the beach in Sønderborg. Draco stayed long into the night. The two of them just talking about the past, but mainly the future. In the last few weeks it had become abundantly clear to Draco that he really liked Hermione. Maybe even more than just as a friend. He hoped that once they both lived in his cottage, she might come to harbour similar feelings for him too.   
Most of Hermione's belongings had made the trip to Denmark before her. When she had struggled to find someone to rent her house,. Draco had referred her to Severus Snape, who was currently looking for a calm place where he would be able to settle down. After an awkward first visit, he had accepted her offer for him to rent the house. In truth the house was absolutely perfect for the former potions professor: there were herbs for potions in the garden, a place to brew and a large library where he could sit between all the books he had collected over the years. Not only was Severus happy at having been offered such a place, but Hermione was thrilled to have someone she knew she would be able to trust with her house.   
They left for Denmark early on Saturday morning. Draco met Hermione at ten to 9am at the Ministry of Magic. They were to take a portkey for their travel, since Hermione wasn't familiar with the area she would be moving to.  
Their portkey, which was a cracked piece of china, took them to a church in the small danish city. They had a good 15 minutes of walking to do before arriving at the cottage.  
The lock on the front door clicked and Draco turned to Hermione, grinning. The grin didn't last long though. As soon as the tall wizard had swung open the door, a flash of sleek, brown hair hit him straight in the face, while a pair of arms wound their way around his torso.  
"Oh Draco!"  
"Astoria?! What the bloody fuck do you think you're doing? This house is Malfoy property."  
"Aren't you happy to see me?"  
"After what you have done? Not really, no."  
The tall brunette stood back to smile at Draco and to tell him that she didn't believe that for a second. Then she saw Hermione. Hermione was so confused at what was happening in front of her and why Draco hadn't told her about Astoria. She was so confused, not knowing what to think, she turned and walked away from the cottage.


	7. Chapter 7

Sorry I didn't post yesterday, my phone crashed and I had to do a factory restart :( not fun...  
Well I hope you have a little fun with this (as far as that's possible)  
I'll try to post another one today  
Thank youu

Draco didn't know what to do. Should he turn and run after Hermione or stay and talk to Astoria about what the f*ck she was doing here. He decided to go after Hermione. "Hermione! Wait!"  
She stopped walking and slowly turned to face him. He could see so many emotions reflected in her features. She looked angry, sad, disappointed and confused, not to mention the tears that were threatening to spill from her eyes. "Hermione, I'm so sorry. I honestly have no idea what's happening or why on earth she'd be here... Had I known-"  
She cut him off. "Draco you have to figure this out before we do anything. I'll wait for you to contact me."  
"Are you going back to England??"  
"No, I'll stay in a hotel somewhere here."  
"Are you sure? I'll pay."  
"Yes I'm sure. And I won't let you pay for me."  
"But it's my-", again, she had cut him off  
"It's not your fault, Draco.", Hermione turned to go and he didn't stop her. He knew she was right. He had to figure out what was happening before it would make sense for her to stay.   
"I'll find you as soon as I can."  
"Please do.", She smiled sadly and left him standing there. He turned back to look at the cottage. Astoria was leaning against the doorframe grinning at him. He was so angry now. Walking swiftly past her, he closed the door behind him with a flick of his wand and told her to follow to the sitting room. He needed a drink. Or his sketchpad. His mind was all over the place. "I knew you still loved me, Draco. That's why you sent that mudbl-"  
"Shut up! Have you gone completely insane?! Oh, sorry, more insane than two years ago?!" Draco could not believe what she was saying. Could she really think he'd still love her after what she did to him?  
"Draco, I'm not insane. I love you and I came back-"  
"That's the problem. You came back. YOU LEFT! You left after my father had killed himself. You would have had our child! You chose not to tell me about it and got rid of it! And now you're back to ruin the best thing that's happened to me! I want you to leave and never come back."  
_____________  
It had been three days since the incident at the cottage. Hermione was so confused and the anger she had felt in the beginning was building back up. Draco had not contacted her since. He had promised to. What was going on? She had delayed the opening of her shop by a week and was hoping immensely that by then she's have answers. The hotel Hermione was staying in was very decent. She had the impression that in Denmark it was difficult to find anything that wasn't decent. She had taken multiple walks along the stony, windy beach close to the cottage and where she was staying now. Most of her time though, was spent in the hotel or a cafe, drawing. At least she'd have many drawings to stack up on in the shop. Currently she was attempting to draw the Black Lake with the Forbidden Forest in the background. She was so concentrated that when there was a single sharp rap on her door she nearly fell from the chair she was occupying. A little flustered, she got up and walked to the door. Fully intent on lecturing whoever was outside that next time they ought to call, her eyes went wide when she saw Draco in front of her room. She stepped aside to let him in. He looked unusually dishevelled, like he hadn't slept since they had last seen each other and as it seemed like he had tried to cover a bruise on the left side of his face with a rather bad glamour charm. He stood close to the door. "We need to talk." His voice was raspy as though he had spent three days yelling. Hermione gestured for Draco to sit. She handed him a coffee and sat opposite him, waiting for Draco to start speaking.


	8. Back Together

it's not long, but this story was never meant to be long. If you want another chapter of them living together or a chapter a little further in the future let me know! I'll likely be working on a new, longer fic now, but feel free to ask for things related to this one.  
Enjoy :)

When Draco had finished Hermione couldn't believe what Draco had been through these last years. It was clear that he hadn't spoken about his relationship with Astoria before and that he probably regretted getting together with her in the first place. Obviously Astoria hadn't wanted to accept Draco refusing her. Hermione suspected that if Draco were not such a good wizard he'd have come out in a much worse state than just the blueish bruise on his face. She pulled out her wand, removed the glamour charm which had nearly worn off by now and cast a few healing charms she still remembered from the war.  
Draco had said they'd be able to return to the cottage, he had dropped Astoria off with her parents and made sure they would take care of her before leaving her. They shrunk the belongings Hermione had in the hotel room to be able to transport and checked they hadn't forgotten anything. Hermione still had to pay for her room, since when she arrived she didn't know how long she would have to stay. Though when Draco shot her a look that said as much as "I owe you this" and "Don't you dare trying to argue" she let him pay the bill.   
The cottage looked as wonderful as it had done last time they arrived. Especially the late-summer sun seemed to give the place a comfortable golden glow. Hermione couldn't help but stop outside, marvelling at how lovely it looked. Draco turned when he noticed Hermione stopped in front of the house. He saw her expression and knew at once she'd love the house as much as he had always done. Turning and grabbing her hand, he led her inside.  
"Hermione, there is one more thing I really need to discuss with you. Shall we sit?" He asked, gesturing to a couple of armchairs. "You are a really wonderful, intelligent and beautiful woman. It still pains me to think how I treated you in school before we became friends. These last few weeks have reminded me of that, but also of how awesome it was while we were friends. We didn't see each other for three days due to Astoria and I've realised, I found that unbearable."


End file.
